Paris, France | AFP | Stifling a sneeze can rupture your throat, burst an ear drum, or pop a blood vessel in your brain, researchers warned Tuesday. Many people — when they feel a sneeze coming on — block all the exits, essentially swallowing the sneeze’s explosive force. Just how dangerous …
Read More »HIV self-testing improves uptake
Up to 100% of women given a self-testing kit took the test Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Until recently, there was virtually no evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of HIV self-testing, but results of new studies now suggest that self-testing has potential in improving the uptake of testing – at …
Read More »WHO says ‘high’ cholera risk in DR Congo capital
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The World Health Organization Monday said there was a high risk of a cholera epidemic after flooding in Kinshasa, the teeming and ramshackle capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “In a big city like Kinshasa, which has between 10 and 12 million inhabitants, …
Read More »Tanzania to double TB-sniffing giant rats
Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | The use of giant rats to sniff out tuberculosis (TB) in Tanzania is set to nearly double by the end of the year due to successful detection rates, a charity who trains them is quoted in a Reuters Africa report as saying. African Giant Pouched Rats, …
Read More »`Incredible’ GMO banana with edible skin
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fruit farmers in Okayama, Japan, have managed to make peeling a banana optional by developing a special variety with edible skin. The peel of their “Mongee Banana” is not particularly tasty, but it is considerably thinner and far less bitter than that of regular …
Read More »Drinking `raw water” is new craze
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Despite being a hub for technological advancement, California’s bay area is also notorious for absurd anti-science health trends such as a new and ridiculous trend – “raw water”. That’s actually unfiltered, untreated, raw spring water, which, even when from the seemingly cleanest of sources, …
Read More »Three reasons you should sleep commando
Kampala, Uganda |THE INDEPENDENT | It turns out a little nudity at night is good as it lowers your body temperature and, in the process, shifts your sleep to the deeper stages you need to feel truly rested, according to research. You might also lose weight because, a cool environment …
Read More »THIS WEEK: World Health Organization endorses new typhoid vaccine
THIS WEEK: World Health Organization endorses new typhoid vaccine Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Jan.03 endorsed the first conjugate vaccine for typhoid. Dubbed Typbar TVC, the vaccine which has been approved to be introduced by interested countries on their immunization programmes can be administered …
Read More »Health minister Opendi to brief parliament on Congo Fever threat
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | State Minister of Health Sarah Opendi has refuted reports that the Crimean haemorrhagic fever, also known as ‘Congo fever’, is ravaging Nakaseke district. She will on Thursday afternoon give a detailed report to parliament. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah instructed the Ministry of …
Read More »Internet-based testing for STIs doubles uptake
First UK study to compare effect of access to internet-based STI testing against face-to-face appointments TECHNOLOGY-HEALTH | AGENCIES | Providing Internet-based testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) could increase the number of people being tested for syphilis, HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, including among high-risk groups, according to a new …
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